4 weeks Trip around California

[jojolemerou]

Hello,

I am french and I am planning a trip to California in August this year with my wife and my one year's old daughter. 
I (will) own : a 6D with 24-105 (replacing my current 40D with 15-85) ; 100L ; 200L 2.8 ; 50 1.4 ; 40 2.8.

We will stay one week in San Fransisco and rent a camping car 2 or 3 weeks to visit Yosemite Park, Grand Canyon, LasVegas and others to define.
I want to go light because i will have my daughter in a backpack and I can't have a dedicated photo bag. One lens will be mounted on the 6D and the other one will be at my belt in a lens bag. I also don't want to let expensive lenses in the camping car all the day ...

I will take the 24 105, and i would like to add only one lens or two if the the second is small.

So what would you take ? Low light ( 50 1.4 ), Tele (200) or Macro (100) ?

I know it's also a matter of taste but it could help to hear others opinions.

Sorry for my English and Thanks in advance.

Any advice about the trip is welcome.
 

[TexPhoto]

i would take the 200, and the 40.  The 200 because you will want some telephoto at some point.  The 40 because it is so small and light is seems silly not to take it.

[dilbert]

Bad news: the lenses you have are a complete mismatch for Yosemite, except for the 24-105.

[yablonsky]

Hi,

take the tele!!!

We visited San Francisco, Yosemite and Grand Canyon in May/June 2012. I brought my 5D2 together with my 17-40 4L and the 70-200 4L IS. 17mm on FF is really great for the Grand Canyon! Also the 200mm were used all the time. (There are a lot of squirrels in the national parks).

One tip for the camper (RV): Make a reservation for all national park camp grounds asap (in particular for Yosemity and Grand Canyon). The national parks are heavily booked throughout the whole season!

[jojolemerou]

i would take the 200, and the 40.  The 200 because you will want some telephoto at some point.  The 40 because it is so small and light is seems silly not to take it.

Thanks for your answer. I agree and I could buy an extension tube to "replace" my 100 macro.

[RC]

Can you pick up or rent an ultra wide for the National Parks?   (16-35 or 17-40). I think you  would find that lens highly favorable in the parks--especially Yosemite.

[jojolemerou]

Hi,

take the tele!!!

We visited San Francisco, Yosemite and Grand Canyon in May/June 2012. I brought my 5D2 together with my 17-40 4L and the 70-200 4L IS. 17mm on FF is really great for the Grand Canyon! Also the 200mm were used all the time. (There are a lot of squirrels in the national parks).

One tip for the camper (RV): Make a reservation for all national park camp grounds asap (in particular for Yosemity and Grand Canyon). The national parks are heavily booked throughout the whole season!

I think you are right, the tele seems mandatory.

Thanks for the tip about the RV, I will do that asap, I hope it's not too late.
Another question about the RV. Is there a lot of cities where you can't come in with ? How did you do in that case ? bus ?

Thanks a lot

[jojolemerou]

Can you pick up or rent an ultra wide for the National Parks?   (16-35 or 17-40). I think you  would find that lens highly favorable in the parks--especially Yosemite.

Yes because i didn't buy the 24-105 yet. I am willing to replace my 40D and 15-85 by a 6D and 24-105.

I had a 10-22 with the 40D in the past but I was not so happy with the results in terms of composition. I replaced it by the 15-85 which was wide enough for me.

The 17-40 is interesting but I am afraid i will have the same feeling as the 10-22.

You really think that 24 is not wide enough ?

[jojolemerou]

Bad news: the lenses you have are a complete mismatch for Yosemite, except for the 24-105.

Yosemite is just a part of the trip.

[yablonsky]

I think you are right, the tele seems mandatory.

Thanks for the tip about the RV, I will do that asap, I hope it's not too late.
Another question about the RV. Is there a lot of cities where you can't come in with ? How did you do in that case ? bus ?

Thanks a lot

Hi

in San Francisco we stayed at an RV site outside of the city (San Francisco RV and Camping Resort,
700 Palmetto Avenue, Pacifica).
We drove with our RV to the next BART station and took the train downtown.

Maybe you can find a site that is closer to the city.
Don't drive with your RV to downtown San Francisco!!!

In Vegas there is an RV park directly at the strip (KOA, 500 Circus Circus Drive).
From there you can go up and down the strip with the bus.

Generally speaking it is best to avoid big cities with an RV.

[jojolemerou]

I think you are right, the tele seems mandatory.

Thanks for the tip about the RV, I will do that asap, I hope it's not too late.
Another question about the RV. Is there a lot of cities where you can't come in with ? How did you do in that case ? bus ?

Thanks a lot

Hi

in San Francisco we stayed at an RV site outside of the city (San Francisco RV and Camping Resort,
700 Palmetto Avenue, Pacifica).
We drove with our RV to the next BART station and took the train downtown.

Maybe you can find a site that is closer to the city.
Don't drive with your RV to downtown San Francisco!!!

In Vegas there is an RV park directly at the strip (KOA, 500 Circus Circus Drive).
From there you can go up and down the strip with the bus.

Generally speaking it is best to avoid big cities with an RV.

Ok thanks for your good advices !

I see that you also have the 100 Macro. You didn't miss it during your trip ?

[yablonsky]

Yes because i didn't buy the 24-105 yet. I am willing to replace my 40D and 15-85 by a 6D and 24-105.

I had a 10-22 with the 40D in the past but I was not so happy with the results in terms of composition. I replaced it by the 15-85 which was wide enough for me.

The 17-40 is interesting but I am afraid i will have the same feeling as the 10-22.

You really think that 24 is not wide enough ?

Hi

even my 17-40 was not wide enough at one location: The goose necks. Here the San Juan River makes 3 bends of more than 180 degress. I couldn't get everything into one frame!

17 mm on FF are great. The landscape in the southwestern national parks is literally so wide,
that you definitely need an ultra wide angle lens.

Get the 17-40 together with the 6D. This is my recommendation.

[RC]

Can you pick up or rent an ultra wide for the National Parks?   (16-35 or 17-40). I think you  would find that lens highly favorable in the parks--especially Yosemite.

You really think that 24 is not wide enough ?

I survived the film era with 28mm being my widest.  Then had the 15-85 for crop (24-136 FF).  But now with 16-35 on  a FF I am wowed and can see what I was missing.  I think you can get by with the 24-105 if you have to but may struggle with composition, especially  in Yosemite. 

[yablonsky]

Ok thanks for your good advices !

I see that you also have the 100 Macro. You didn't miss it during your trip ?

no, I didn't miss it. I didn't have it that time. I did the close-ups of butterflies and flowers with my other two lenses. This was no problem.

[Cali_PH]

I live in California and visit Yosemite several times a year.  I'd say I use the 24-105L & 17-40L the most, followed by my 70-200.  You may not go beyond 24mm often, but it's useful at times.  For example, the most heavily visited area is the valley, where you'll be at the foot of tall cliffs, probably shooting up, trying to include as much as possible (waterfalls, granite formations etc.).   Many locations will force you to be closer, because of trees, cliffs, and other natural barriers; you can't simply back up a bit.   There will also be wide vistas you'll probably want to shoot.  Of course, you can attempt to merge shots together.

The roads are windy and a bit narrow through the mountains, so I'd highly suggest renting as small an RV as you can, especially if you're not used to driving a large vehicle.  Plus you'll be in unfamiliar territory. 

From what I've read on TripAdvisor forums, a lot of visitors will visit the Big Sur/Monterey/Carmel area in between San Francisco and Yosemite.  It's one of my personal favorite areas to visit, and I'd highly recommend it.  Big Sur has stretch of highway along some very beautiful, dramatic coastline, some waterfalls (McWay Falls), beaches, etc.   Carmel's 17-Mile drive is beautiful, Monterey has a lot of tourist things to do such as a great aquarium, and Point Lobos preserve is a beautiful spot with lots of amazing hikes.

I'm not sure what roads you'll be taking from Yosemite to Grand Canyon/Vegas, but consider leaving Yosemite by Tioga Road.  There's lots of nice things to see on the way.  Even if you don't get out and go for long hikes, there are still some great viewing spots right off the road.  Also, after you exit Yosemite, you can stop at Mono Lake for a bit before heading south.  If you're interested, there's also the old ghost town of Bodie a few miles north. 

There's supposed to be some other great stops along there south of Mono Lake but I've never headed that way myself.